(In story from May 18, corrects name to King Air Industria (not

Industrial) in paragraph 13, adds Equinix ( EQIX ) comment in paragraphs

3-6)

* Campaigners lodge planning objection

* Say environmental information needed to assess the

project

* Flag concerns around power usage and water

By Sharon Kimathi

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - A plan by U.S.-listed Equinix ( EQIX )

to build two data centres in Cape Town should not be

approved without full disclosure of its water, power and

environmental impact, a formal objection lodged with city

planners and seen by Reuters showed.

The Housing Assembly (HA), a social movement representing

more than 20 communities in the Western Cape of South Africa,

and UK non-profit Foxglove say the application cannot be

approved without the key information needed for officials to

assess the project.

Equinix ( EQIX ), which already operates a site in Johannesburg with

100% renewable energy coverage, said it had not submitted any

planning applications in Cape Town.

"We can confirm that we have completed the purchase of land

in Cape Town. At this stage, no planning applications have been

submitted in connection with the site," it said in an emailed

statement in response to Reuters questions.

"Should we decide to proceed with any development, we are

committed to being fully transparent and will provide detailed

information to all relevant stakeholders in a timely manner,"

Equinix ( EQIX ) said.

Equinix ( EQIX ) said it engages with local utilities, government

leaders and other stakeholders early in the planning process to

understand local priorities and help inform its decisions.

As technology firms race to scale up computing power across

the globe, they face local opposition from communities worried

about issues such as rising power bills, water stress, noise and

pollution.

"There is simply not enough information for a decision on a

project of this scale, with no substantive detail on water use,

emissions, electricity demand, diesel generators, air pollution,

noise or even the buildings themselves," said Rosa Curling,

co-executive director at Foxglove.

The project includes two large data centres in Cape Town

with a combined projected power usage of up to 160 megawatts,

according to the document but questions remain on issues such as

what sort of back-up power generation the site will have.

The water demands of the site are also particularly

important given Cape Town's historic problems with water

scarcity, Curling said.

Cape Town suffered from a severe drought in 2017-2018, which is

also known as the 'Day Zero' crisis, when the city shut off most

household taps because its water reservoirs had fallen

dangerously low.

"There seems to be this rush to develop data centres without

people properly thinking through what the impact will be," added

Saadiyah Kwada, an attorney at the non-profit, Legal Resources

Centre in Cape Town.

King David Golf Club, the owner of King Air Industria, the

development site on which the data centres are due to be built,

and Equinix ( EQIX ) have 30 days to offer a response, after which the

City has 180 days to make a decision. KAI declined to comment.

Alderman Eddie Andrews, Cape Town's Deputy Mayor and Mayoral

Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, said:

"The City of Cape Town still needs to evaluate the application

together with all comments and objections received from internal

and external departments/interested and affected parties.

"The City cannot comment any further as this application is

still being processed," he added.

South Africa's government on Wednesday pledged to boost

investment in digital infrastructure, including data centres,

through tax incentives and policy reforms aimed at expanding

connectivity while addressing regulatory barriers.

(Editing by Simon Jessop, Kirsten Donovan, Jon Boyle and

Alexander Smith)